French rock was born as early as mid-1950s, when writer, songwriter and jazz player Boris Vian wrote parody rock songs for Magali Noël or Henri Salvador. Although Vian despised rock and wrote this songs as attacks, they are highly acclaimed by French critics today and considered precursors.

Things changed course in the 1980s. The changing of the political culture was accompanied by an explosion in youth culture. This helped the emergence of a distinct French rock that could match the lucrativeness of American and British rock music. At this time, French progressive rock was peaking, with the bands Dün, Terpandre and Emeraude achieving the most success (but faring less well with critics than 1970s progressive acts). The success of Téléphone (pub rock), which started in the 1970s but peaked in the 1980s, also took French rock to new levels. The new wave was dominated by Indochine, who sold enormously, as well as Alain Chamfort, overshadowing the works of critical darlings Taxi Girl or Jacno, but the genre also later saw the emergence of Étienne Daho, who would remain a major figure in French music up to this day. Another notable artist from the early 1980s is Axel Bauer, who scored a massive hit with the song Cargo. Charlélie Couture also marked its time withComme un avion sans aile. The post-punk scene, although commercially unsuccessful, also featured critically acclaimed acts, such as Marquis de Sade, Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine, Orchestre rouge or Kas Product. The art rock band Les Rita Mitsouko enjoyed international success, while the decade also saw the emergence of Alain Bashung, who had been around since the 1960s but only started to have his first hits in the new wave era. Bashung would become the most critically acclaimed French rock singer in his home country, with several of his albums being now hailed as classics. There was also a second wave of French punk rock which included such acts as Bérurier Noir, Les Négresses Vertes, Les Garçons Bouchers, Les Wampas, Les Satellites or the seminal Mano Negra, which would make the genre evolve towards worldbeat (and whose leader Manu Chao would later have a worldwide successful solo career). Finally, the first major French indie rock act appeared: Les Thugs, who are considered a major reference of the scene up to this day.